


Yellow and Orange Roses

by Silvalina



Category: Splatoon, coroika - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Coroika, Fluff, Foster Care, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I love my babyyyy, Rider is a foster paren, S4 are kinda kids, Trans Aloha, i love them, theyre cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25598962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvalina/pseuds/Silvalina
Summary: Rider was only supposed to pick up one kid.How come he is stuck with four now? Ugh, him and his soft heart.--------------Au where the S4 are kinda kids who ended up in the foster system and Rider fosters and probably adopts them in the end. They all kinda have issues.
Relationships: Aloha & Army & Mask & Skull (Splatoon), Aloha & Rider (Splatoon), Army & Rider (Splatoon), Mask & Rider (Splatoon), Skull & Rider (Splatoon)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 35
Collections: CoroikaCollection





	1. Chapter 1

Rider was nervous.

The anxious taps his feet made as he sat there was probably the most obvious feature.  
He had been waiting for this for some time already, getting registered as a foster parent despite being single had been hard but not undoable. So he pulled some strings and got what he wanted, but not without getting pulled through the wringer, tested in every way.  
Did he have a good job? What about his past? Are there any occurrences that spoke against him fostering a child.

Thankfully he didn't have anything on his card, a clean sheet so to speak, and he was glad for it.

The yellow-green inkling already had everything planned out, wanting to take in a little troublemaker named Skull. The kid had been returned to the orphanage by several fosters because of his bad behavior and Rider was very intrigued so to speak.   
It may come into play that he reminded him of himself when he was just a kid.

He didn't like thinking of that.

\-----------

Skull was annoyed.

One of his caretakers told him that they found a new foster, that he should be happy that they did, that someone would take him in after everything he'd done.  
He hated them, he hated them so much. All this happy family bullshit really got to him, why would that even exist, he wasn't in an orphanage for nothing wasn't he? Someone didn't want him and he dealt with it in his way.

But there was another hurdle.

He looked at his three roommates, cuddled around him in a pile, tears stains on their cheeks. They had cried hard, every single one of them, begging Skull not to go and fuck, Skull really didn't want to leave them but what could he do? His only plan entailed being an absolute asshole to be put back into the orphanage as soon as he could.  
He couldn't just leave them and he wouldn't.

He'd make sure of it.

\---------

It was almost time, Rider still waited for the caretaker to come back with his charge, annually getting more annoyed at how long it took. It couldn't be so hard to get a kid, couldn't it?

When they do came, Rider couldn't take his eyes off of the kid. Fuck he was almost a spitting image of himself if it weren't for the slight overbite and the missing eyebrows.  
He doesn't even want to know why.

The kid growled, his face looking angry and annoyed and Rider instantly found himself on his feet, talking with the caretaker.  
But when he was just about to get the papers signed, a small pink blur ran right into skull, shaking and hugging him hard, begging him not to leave them. 

That really broke Riders heart, seeing the small kid sob and beg while the caretaker tried to take her away from his kid.

"Aloha, you should be happy for your friend, go back to your room with the others-"

Did their voice really had to be so harsh with the kid? They were young, that's not how someone speaks with a child.  
Before he could think any more about that two more blurs shot right into Skull and at that moment Rider asked himself what he had gotten himself into.

\--------

He left with three more kids that day, buckling them all into his car while the back had four trash bags with their stuff in it. It really hadn't changed anything.

Skull was at the front with him while the other three were in the back, sitting quietly and still and honestly, that scared Rider a lot. Weren't kids supposed to be chatty and upbeat, happily bouncing around or asking questions. This was just scary and Rider didn't want to think about what made them that way for now.

He started the car and the entire car ride was enveloped in a slightly awkward silence, Skulls scowl never leaving his face while the other three whispered quietly amongst themselves.  
When they arrived at his house, he went out of the car and the kids were already out, their bags in their hands and queued up, Skull standing protectively in front of them.  
Yeah, he really was a lot like Rider himself had been.

"Ok kids, welcome to your new foster home."

He only got that sentence out for now, leading them inside and showing them around. The inkling only had only prepared one room because he really didn't think that he'd be getting four kids home today, so while he got the kids in that room, he went into his own and put new sheets on his bed, changing out everything and getting a couple more pillows and blankets. This should accommodate the three boys. The girl will just get the already prepared room and Rider will sleep on the couch, that should be easier for all of them.

When he went back into the room though, he found them all lying in a pile on top of each other, cuddling. They looked like they had been crying, kids do cry a lot normally so he didn't think it would be bad if they did. That's better than the emotionless faces he had seen the whole car ride long.

\--------

He felt relieved.

Army had been through foster homes, through a lot of them, since he had so many quirks and things he didn't like and people don't want kids that are weird, he knew they don't. His chattering about his favorite show or book or his constant asking if he would be allowed to help with cooking got on most people's nerves. But he just couldn't help it he got so excited all the time.

So when this new foster parent showed up and actually agreed to take them all in, he was kind of skeptical. They had all agreed to not be too happy about all of this. The new parent would only notice after a couple of days that they're all a group of troublemakers and just send them back into the orphanage. It was always like that.

But a tiny spec inside of him hoped that it wouldn't be that way, he just didn't want to worry the rest of them so he kept still like always.

After their talking session they all fell asleep together on the bed and he was worried that Rider would be angry at them for that when he found out. Yet when the orange inkling woke up, still in his clothes in a pile of his sleeping friends, he was confused.

Wiggling out of it, he peeked out of the room, looking into a dark hallway with light at the end of it. From the clock on the wall he knew that it was morning already, they had been asleep for some time and he wondered why their new caretaker didn't wake them yet. Normally they'd all be put up to do chores around the house and clean or something, but there was nothing of that.

He made a bold decision and went down the hallway into the living room. When he saw the bigger inkling though, he tensed up, looking at him and waiting for anything he'd say or do.

"You already awake kid? I guess with all of you in a pile like that it would be hard to sleep, but you looked comfortable so."

He had looked up from his phone, talked, and looked down again. Not a bit of anger or anything in his voice and Army was very confused. For the first time in a bit, he spoke.

"You're not upset?"

That hit Rider harder than he thought it would. 

"Why would I be? There's absolutely no reason to be."

"But...We slept in and didn't even do any chores yet or made ourselves useful or-"

He slapped a hand over his mouth, silencing himself and looking at Rider with a terrified expression. Rider didn't like that, he'd probably send them back like the others did, why did you have go chatter again Army-

"Well, I didn't think that would be a good idea for now. You just moved in."

He said in a calm tone, having put his phone down to look at army with his hands folded in his lap. It overwhelmed him probably as much as the kid, everything that had happened hit very much home for him.

"B-but..."

Army didn't know what to say. He stood there rooted to the floor, not able to get a word out of his mouth. Why would Rider be different from the rest, they all thought. Why would he act so nice and kind to them like no one else ever had it just didn't make any sense to him.

When Army started to cry, Rider began to panic slowly. He went up and kneeled down right before the small squid, not wanting to startle him more he decided not to touch him in any way.  
That decision was taken from him in an instant though when he suddenly had an arm full of a crying mess, getting tears and snot all over his shirt.

He could deal with that, this was better than anything he'd seen him do, emotion wise at least.

Rider held him for at least half an hour before the little one calmed down, only a small shivering mess in his arms. He reached other to the small couch desk and got him a handkerchief which he used to get all the snot and tears from his face.

"Let's get you washed up. Do you think you can help me make breakfast for the other three?"

Rider didn't think it would work so quickly but when he saw the absolute glee on the small squids face, he knew he'd done something right.

\---------

"Ugh... We shouldn't have slept in a pile like that... My back hurts..."

Aloha groaned, pushing Skull off of herself. The squid groaned as well, rolling down the bed and flopping to the ground.

"Army, why didn't you wake u- Army?"

She looked around, only seeing the still sleeping Mask and Skull on the ground, both snoring.

"Guys, guys! Army's gone! Wake up you two idiots!"

She kicked them, gently, and they both woke up with a yelp, Skull instantly on the defense and Mask just opening an eye.

"Why did you doooo thaaaat... Sleeep..."

He groaned and sniffled, rubbing his head. Mask hadn't even taken his facemask off yet, not sure if the air was save to breathe around here.

"Wait, Army is gone!"

"No shit Skull, get up you two lazy asses and help me search for him-"

A small cry got all of their attention, suspiciously sounding like their missing fourth member. All of them were up in an instant and running towards the source, oit for blood.

Skull came rushing into the kitchen at first, already ready to throw hands.

"If you hurt him im gonna kill y-"

What he saw baffled him though.

It was army, sitting on Rider's lap with tears in his eyes and a small ice pack on his hand. He didn't look hurt in any way other than the hand and also didn't really look that upset.

"What did you do to h-"

Army shook his head, jumping up from Riders lap to run over to them.

"No, no, it's totally ok! He's not like the others."

Army went over to Skull and papped his arm, looking up at the kraken with a big smile.  
He was taken aback by that, the smaller squid didn't smile often these days, especially since he was last given back to the orphanage. It had hurt them all to see him so broken...

Maybe this wasn't so bad, but he couldn't trust Rider yet. Not fully at least.

"Also we made pancakes for everyone, Rider showed me how to do them and even let me help!"

Ok maybe he could try to trust him.

Aloha and Mask, meanwhile, where already chattering with Army again, the former more than the latter.  
Rider had asked himself why Mask still wore a literal Mask though. They were inside of the house, what could be so bad about it?

He didn't press any further for now.

"Ok enough chattering kids, or the food will get cold. Though please wash your hands beforehand. Army could you show them the bathroom while I set the table? And be careful with your hand, let me take a look at it after breakfast."

With that he turned around, going to do what he said and the kids were left only with Army's knowledge on what to do.

He took Aloha by the hand and pulled him into the direction of the bathroom, getting the others to follow him as well, where he opened the door.

It was quite spacious, with everything a bathroom needed and more. The sink had a small step below it that had been placed there so they could actually reach it properly.  
Army stepped onto them and began to clean his hands properly, being mindful of the small burn on one of them.  
The rest joined him, looking around the bathroom suspiciously, washing their faces and arms as well.

"How did you get hurt, Army?"

Skull asked after they were all done, helping with drying off the others faces.

"Well, when Rider showed me how to make pancakes, I accidentally put my hand on the hot pan and burned it. You should've seen his face, he looked absolutely terrified and instantly got it under cool water 'cause otherwise blisters would build up, he said."

Army showed them his hand, only a little bit red left on it and no trace of any blisters indicating the direct action Rider must have taken to minimize the damage.  
Skull was almost impressed.

"Anyway, we should probably get going. I wanna show you how good of a cook I am!"

Army grinned, holding the ice pack over his red hand and holding the door open for the others with his back.  
Aloha and Mask went through it with Skull going last and holding the door for Army to go through.

They all went into the direction of the kitchen.

\----------

Half an hour later and the atmosphere at the table was quite awkward, between Rider and Skull at least as Army and Aloha just chattered about random topics and Mask was quiet as always.

Rider decided that it had probably been better that he got all the kids here and not only Skull, who knows what the small kraken would've done. He looked up.

"Alright kids, I wanna set some rules down. I know you probably don't like rules but they are necessary while you're living here."

All four of them sighed, preparing for the inevitable.

"First of all, don't use the kitchen or any appliances without me to overlook what you're doing, I don't want you to hurt yourself. Then, it would be nice if you don't hoard food in your rooms. I know I did it when I was in your shoes, but it can make quite the mess and I won't let you starve."

They all looked up with confusion, not knowing what he meant with his side comment but nodded to these rules, they can work with that.  
Afterward they waited for the rest of them, but when nothing came Aloha spoke up.

"Aren't there more? Like what we have to do around the house? Clean the rooms or do laundry or..."

Rider looked at them with a sigh, knowing exactly why she asked such a question.

"Well, it would be nice if you kids could help around the house, maybe clean up after yourselves, but I won't make you do anything you don't like."

They were honestly surprised by that, even Mask having a slight shock evident in his eyes.

"Also, I need to apply you kids to a school around here-"

"Please don't-"

A slight gasp came from the cyan boy, coughing after he spoke, turning his head away from the table. Today was really full of surprises.

Though not only Rider was in shock this time, everyone else was too. Skull rubbed circles over Mask's back as he tried to breathe, tears building up at the corners of his eyes from the pain.

"Ok we're gonna talk about school stuff later, what's wrong with him?"

Rider was already up and also by Mask's side, being careful not to touch him for the moment.

Army looked at him with confusion.

"Didn't they tell you that he has medical problems? Mask has several allergies and asthma."

Rider massaged his temples, trying to comprehend what the kid said, feeling a headache coming up.

"Ok, they didn't, why didn't they tell me something like that, I need to know if any of you have allergies or health problems. Is that why he doesn't speak so much?"

They only nodded, Skull not reacting at all and concentrating on taking care of Mask, whispering at him to breathe softly.

"This is it, that's gonna be my next rule. Tell me about stuff like this, be it wounds or medical issues or just anything else at all. As your caretaker I need to know this, even if all your former caretakers didn't think it would be necessary. Army, you're a smart kid, can you please write me a list of anything I might need to kno-"

"And why would you care? Why would you put so much effort into caring for this, for us?!"

Skull spoke up, standing up at the same time as he did.

"Well, someone fucking has to."

That took the kid by surprise and he stormed out of the kitchen. Only the slam of a door could be heard, which was probably the door to their room. 

"Well, that was something else."

Rider sat down on the ground, looking at the kids with concern.

"Skull just needs some time to blow off some steam. He has some anger issues, well that's what the caretakers in the orphanage said at least.

He nodded to Aloha's exclamation, seeing them all looking as worried as himself.

"Well, Army could you still make a list? And for the school stuff, we can wait until later for that, let's just focus on you four."

His voice was calm, face morphing into a neutral expression to not scare the kids or show them that he was really angry at everything.

Army nodded, face having determined expression, and went back to their room, probably to start with the list and talk with Skull a little bit.

Meanwhile, Aloha started to get the dirty dishes from the table and put them in their dishwasher, actually explaining his happiness that he had such an appliance while Mask sat there, a small frown on his face.

"Masky, I know you want to help but you need to rest up. That was a nasty attack."

Rider looked at the interaction between the two and went over to cook some water and make tea for him, bringing it over and setting it down before him.

"You're not useless or weak."

With that he dismissed himself, trusting that the kids wouldn't do dumb stuff, and went into the living room to have a mental breakdown and call around, collecting information on what actions to do next.

He didn't see the tears of relief in Mask's eyes as he turned around, and that was probably for the best as Aloha went over to comfort the sickly squid.

\-----------

Army knocked on their new room, getting a grumpy come in from its inhabitant. When he opened the door he saw Skull sitting on the floor, a blanket wrapped around him and clutching something they were all very familiar with. 

Back in the orphanage there had been a box with donated stuff, including the occasional toy or plush. They all had something that comforted them.  
Army had his manual, his private book that he wrote his thoughts and feelings and the occasional recipe or strategy into.

Aloha had precious shirt, one thing she really absolutely adored and loved to wear, if only other people wouldn't put her down for wearing such boyish clothes which she never understood.

Mask actually had a small gameboy, something so rare and precious in his eyes that he always had it hidden within Skull's stuff so no one would steal it.

And lastly Skull. He had something which no one would probably expect from him. 

A small plush of a jellyfish, soft and round to the touch, already a bit worn down but still intact nonetheless. He had it with him since he could think, since he could remember being in the orphanage, and it had always been a great comfort to him.

No one that knew judged him for it.

Army hugged him from the side. He tensed but leaned into it, throwing an arm over the kids shoulder.

"You know, he's not as bad as you think Skull... Give him a chance please..."

The smaller inkling pressed against the taller one, a couple of tears slipping down his face as he clutched his arms like a lifeline. He just found something that could someday resemble a home for them but they couldn't have that if Skull wasn't comfortable with it. And Army just didn't know what else to do than to encourage him even if he was so scared himself that it wasn't going to work out.

In the meantime, Skull was so split between his distrust of adults and the strange feeling of what could maybe be happiness, that he clutched Army and the jellyfish close, overwhelmed with the feelings he felt.  
After some time, he had come to a conclusion, only now noticing that Army fell asleep in his arm, opting on laying him down on the bed and putting his prized stuffy next to him.

The kraken stood up and went out of the room, into the direction of the living room where Mask, Aloha and Rider where currently sitting together on the couch, the former two asleep.

Rider watched him place himself on the seat next to the couch, staring at the taller squid with fierce but conflicted eyes, knowing that this was going to be a long night of talking after the conversation with the other two kids.


	2. Chapter 2

“Rider, can we pleeeeease get ice cream?”

Aloha pleaded, looking up at him with puppy eyes. It had been two weeks since they went to live with Rider unexpectedly. Everyone had been eager to get away from the orphanage and were happy as long as they were together but Rider gave them a new perspective on what adults were normally supposed to be like on top of that.

Skull held Masks and Army's hands, watching the two youngest of the bunch with a sharp eye as they walked through the mall. This was a big relief for Rider as he only needed to watch Aloha more closely, who was a handful by herself.

“Later maybe, if you behave yourself. That means no climbing around on the escalators, I don't want you to hurt yourself.”

Alohas eyes sparkled, head nodding vigorously as she went over to Rider again, hopping around like an excited bunny. Skull smiled softly under his mask at the same time that Rider did, happy that the kid was still so pure and full of energy.  
Rider led them into the clothing store as they finally arrived there, Mask getting set on the next best bench immediately to rest a little bit and catch his breath. Army sat down next to him as Skull went to look around a little, glancing back at the kids now and then as Rider went over to the girls clothes section with Aloha.

“Tell me if you like anything, i'll be over here.”

Rider went to a nearby bench, sitting down on it as he watched Aloha go through some clothes, a small frown on her face. He wondered what was wrong but decided to let her tell that on her own accord later if she wanted to.  
He spaced out a little bit, thinking about what happened in the last week and all the stress the kids needed to endure when he needed to talk to them about the orphanage and personal stuff, everyone having breakdowns once in a while, especially Mask. He had decided back then that he needed to go to the doctor with all of them for check ups and to see how severe Mask’s health problems were. 

He got snapped out of his thoughts by a nervous looking Aloha, standing right in front of him with empty hands and gripping her shirt at the seams. She looked up at him, her eyes giving him a sad and anxious look while she bit her lip, as if she wanted to tell him something.   
Then, she took initiative.

“Can we go to the boys section?”

He raised an eyebrow but decided not to say anything, standing up and holding out his hand for her to take. Her eyes lit up in an instant and she bounced over, grabbing it and letting herself be led to where Mask and Army were sitting, Rider placing himself on the bench next to them as the small kid went over to Skull, grinning up at him and asking him something, which Rider wasn't able to hear from his seat. He just let Skull watch over her for now and leaned over to the other two, Army and Mask both already having a small pile of clothes on their laps.

“Was Skull a good help with choosing them?”

Mask nodded timidly and Army gave him a big smile, which was confirmation enough for the adult squid, feeling relieved that Skull had been such a great help for them. He leaned back into the bench and watched as Aloha just came out of the changing room with a big smile, wearing a light blue shirt with black shorts, Skull standing next to him with a small smile. Though, as a worker came and Skull's smile faded into a frown, he noticed something was probably wrong.   
He immediately went over there, only seeing small tears on Aloha's face as he arrived.

Well that was enough.

“What is going on here?”

He planted himself between his kids and the worker, crossed arms and raised eyebrows indicating his irritation to anyone around them.

The worker turned his way, an inkling with a weird headband and a small namesign on his shirt with “Squash” written on it. He looked like the kind of guy anyone would be uncomfortable with and honestly, Rider already wanted to punch his face in.

“Well, as you can see I wanted to tell the stupid little girl that this is the boys section and that the girls section is over there-”

The moment Rider heard him say stupid his mind went blank and he stared at the guy with such a fury, so much anger radiating off of him that even Skull flinched and grabbed Aloha, holding her close before the bomb went off.

“Alright you misshapen tennis ball head, if I hear you call my kid stupid one more fricking time I will personally rip you out of every known plane of existance and feed you to the dogs. And now, I will take my kids and leave this store because this is literally the worst thing an inkling being can fucking do. Geez. Also, your name is tremendously stupid and Im literally named Rider.”

Rider turned around having Skull and Aloha follow him while walking over and taking both Army and Mask in his arms, carrying them away from the masses that had built up around him and the worker, the latters head full-on green with humiliation as everyone stared at him with disgust. Rider just went on with a satisfied grin, though he kind of wanted to buy the kids some clothes. 

Well, another time.

A couple of minutes they were outside again, the cold air hitting them as the two bundles in his arms began to shiver, all of them opting to get to the car as quickly as possible. No one dared to utter a word, afraid of what Rider might say or do after that.  
They all went into the car, relieved to be out of the cold as Rider buckled in the kids and Skull went to the passenger seat up front, not taking his eyes off of him. He was scaringly silent and honestly, Skull was more worried than afraid of him.

The driver's seat was occupied a moment after that, the squid slowly turning on the engine and just… sitting there.

“I'm sorry kids, I didn't mean to yell.”

They all were surprised by the sudden change in behavior, everyone looking at him with confusion and worry.

“Well, no one would have stood up to any of us like that…”

The small and shy voice of Mask chimed in, stopping right after the sentence and Army decided to take over.

“Yeah! You showed that meanie what will happen when someone is mean to Aloha!”

The small pink squid looked over to him as well, rubbing her tears away from her face as Mask leaned in, getting a small hug and a headrub from Aloha.

“Well it was quite brave, making such a scene. I kind of liked the idiot's expression afterwards.”

Skull chuckled lightly which was a surprise all by itself, he doesn't show any emotion besides his usual neutral expression normally, so it was a nice view to see him open up a little. That's what Rider thought at least.

\-------------------------------

“Rider, I… I wanna be a boy.”

When Aloha exclaimed that, everyone looked at her- him? At him, Army, Mask and Skull were surprised but Rider kinda already had a hunch, so he wasn't as shocked as them. 

“Well, do you want another name? Or stay with this one?”

For Rider, there was no judging, no questioning and no harm for the child, he wouldn't have anyone hurt his kids, no one will, he'll make sure of it.

“-der, Rider? Are you ok? You kind of zoned out there, though like I said, I wanna keep my name cause I like it, it's awesome!”

Aloha grinned at him from the back of the car while Mask was asleep at his side, Army looking at him with a smile of his own and Skull just shaking his head at the cuteness of the situation, reaching back into the car while Rider was just pulling into their driveway, parking and just… standing there for a second, realization hitting Rider.

“Did we literally just steal from the clothes store.”


End file.
